Hemp in Numbers

Industrial hemp is indeed a multi-billion industry. Because of its many benefits, including being biodegradable and its short maturity period, the crop is likely to be the number 1 crop in the USA in the near future.

The popularity of hemp is growing among industrialists and consumers by the day due to an increase in awareness of the benefits of hemp products. The hemp plant has many minerals. The plant is also rich in proteins, amino acids, omega-3 and omega-6 which help the human body in mood stability, joint health, skin health, insulin balance, and cardiac function. For industrial use, the hemp fiber is a better alternative to wood, plastic, traditional concrete, sisal, and other materials.

Although industrial hemp is currently grown in only some countries in the world and in a few states in the United States, this is bound to change in the near future. There is likelihood that all 50 states in the USA will adopt the growth of the plant in the next few years. This is owing to the fact that the plant has many technical and health advantages. And as more consumers and industries demand to use hemp products, there is bound to be an increase in hemp suppliers including seed suppliers, hemp farmers, and hemp manufacturers to meet the growing demand.

Hemp as a Cash Crop

As far as cost-benefit analysis of growing and selling crops is concerned, hemp as a cash crop has quite an attraction to farmers in comparison to other industrial crops. A study by Cornell University estimated hemp profits per acre to be between $130 and $730.

Actually, statistics reveal that there was an increase of about 163% of hemp farming in the year 2017 in the USA with 19 states having over 25,000 acres under hemp cultivation.

This is because, for industrial hemp to reach full maturity, it requires less pesticide, water and a short period of time to reach full maturity in contrast to other plants like corn, cotton, sisal, trees, and soybeans. Industrial hemp takes a mere three months to reach full maturity.

Furthermore, as a cash crop, hemp has many segments that are a good investment opportunity for upcoming hemp investors. As demand for the product continues to grow, farmers require hemp planting seeds. In this regard, you can be the supplier of hemp seeds; you can grow hemp as a farmer or participate in the manufacture of finished products of hemp after the plant is harvested. Other segments include the supply of other supplementary products like pesticides and other materials used in combination with hemp to produce hemp products.

Increased Demand for Hemp Consumer Products

Actually, hemp statistics in the United States are changing steadily. In the year 2017, the industrial market size for hemp products was estimated to be about USD 3.9 billion and was predicted to grow. This means that in the next few years, as there will be a rise in demand for hemp consumer products and hemp industrial materials, the industrial market size will also increase. Hemp consumer products include bakery products like cookies and bread, flour, salad dressing, cooking oil, dairy alternatives, and beauty products.

Hemp as an Industrial Material

As the planet continues to be more environmental sensitive there will be a demand for hemp’s hempcrete which is biodegradable. Other hemp products that will be on high demand are hemp papers, hemp ropes, hemp bio-plastics among other materials and finished products.

Tree-based papers are manufactured from different types of trees. Worth noting is that the fastest growing trees, for paper production take a period of about 6-7 years to reach full harvesting. This is quite in contrast to industrial hemp that takes only about 3 months to reach full maturity.

Sisal, on the other hand, takes around 3-5 years to mature. Sisal is used for its fiber in making ropes. As such, hemp is a better crop to grow as an alternative to trees, sisal and other materials used traditionally in technical industries.

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